All posts tagged "purchase"

Monday, September 26, 2011

I've been writing and re-writing this post in my head over the past couple of months, and that headline was the best I could come up with. It's not easy to encapsulate one of the most significant changes in my life in a single sentence. Now let's unpack that bombshell I've just dropped...

The HTC Job

I've been working with HTC, the mobile phone and tablet maker, since August 1st of this year. Being a long-time fan of Microsoft's efforts in the mobile space - and largely tying my career to those efforts, for better or worse - I've watched HTC grow from being a nameless, brandless, tiny Taiwanese ODM making Palm-sized PCs/Pocket PCs to the mobile powerhouse they are today. I've always had tremendous admiration for HTC as a company and loved their products, so when someone I knew from Microsoft got a job with HTC in late 2010, I reached out and we started talking. The rest, as they say, is history. I believe HTC is uniquely positioned to do some amazing things in the mobile space over the next few years and I'm excited to be a part of it!

Thoughts Media is currently a vendor for HTC USA, and come October 1st, I'll be a full-time employee. I have an H1B work visa, and after closing the sale of my house this weekend (phew!), I'll be moving in the near future to the Bellevue, Washington area with my wife, our two year old son and our dog, and starting my new career. To add a little extra stress into my life, we're also building a new house and will be in temporary lodging until it's finished. Oh, did I mention this is the first corporate job I've held in 13 years? This is the single biggest career transition I've ever gone through. Read more...

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

What if filling up on Microsoft Points was as easy as picking up your phone and having the cost added to your phone bill? That's how it is for NTT DoCoMo users in Japan, and hopefully, that's just a starting point.

If Microsoft is working with other carriers to make this available around the world, great. If not, they probably should. A vast majority of Xbox Live Marketplace and Zune Marketplace users probably have a mobile device of some sort - some have their reasons against directly linking their Windows Live ID and credit card together, while others don't always want to make the trek to their local store to pick up one of the many Microsoft Points cards on offer, so this third option makes a lot of sense.

"Microsoft has strongly advised Australians to avoid buying its Zune music player from local retailers. The software giant is yet to announce plans to distribute the device in Australia, but that did not stop one Australian retailer from obtaining stock. Mwave.com.au, an online store based in Sydney, sells the Zune for $389. It appears to be the first and only retailer in Australia to stock the player, although some second-hand units have been sold through eBay. An Mwave spokesman said "about 100 units" had been sold since it began stocking the Zune in late December last year."

Unsurprisingly, Microsoft Australia has warned against the purchasing of the Zune in Australia for all the reasons that one would expect: no local support, lack of accessories, and an out-of-reach Zune Marketplace. Of course, that hasn't stopped me (and a few Australian MVPs that I know) from adopting one. Yes, it's understandable that Microsoft Australia does not want to be inundated with support requests, but I feel this is moot when (a) the reseller (Mwave) has stated that Microsoft will not support the Zune locally, and (b) courtesy of the non-existent local advertising, most who purchase the Zune in Australia know that it's a US-only release. What would eliminate these uncertainties is an official release of the Zune in Australia and other countries, but hey, that doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon. :(

Monday, December 4, 2006

I couldn't help but chuckle at PvPonline.com's Friday comic (click the link to see the entire strip), which harmlessly stabbed the Zune and its sharing capabilities. It brings forth a question that's been on my mind for quite some time: how many of you have successfully shared music with a friend's or stranger's Zune, liked the music, and followed through and purchased it (either from the Zune Marketplace or your favourite 'brick and mortar' store)? I'm guessing not many, given Zune's current day infancy.